Chapter 108: Suddenly [2]
Snap.
The slums we entered with the police were appalling. It was hard to believe that human beings actually lived like this. No wonder Marxism was born around this era, though he still got a lot wrong. Still, I could understand why someone might look around and think, This isn’t right.
“Move it!”
“Hey.”
Of course, for most people in the nineteenth century, this was just a normal sight. I was the only one lost in thought. The police swung their clubs, driving off the onlookers who had gathered. Good-looking or not, their appearance did not inspire much trust. It would not be surprising if one or two murderers were hiding among them.
“This way.”
We were only able to enter after clearing the crowd in front of the house. If you could even call it a house. The floor was bare dirt, as if no one had ever even considered building it properly, and the roof was just discarded scrap wood tied together to keep out the rain.
“Here.”
“Um… they were stabbed in the stomach.”
“Yes. That’s what it looks like.”
It was pitch-dark inside. There were no windows, and the gloomy weather did not help. The police officer lit a lantern and crouched down to inspect the body.
Wait. Body?
“Excuse me.”
I instinctively stepped forward.
“What is it?”
The officer inside sounded confused, probably because he could not see my face in the dim light. Not that it would have mattered. Liston was here too. But that was not what mattered right now. There was blood, and it was still actively oozing.
“This wound. The blood’s so red.”
“Blood is red. That’s normal.”
“No, I mean look closely. It’s spurting. Like a fountain.”
It was not coming from the stomach exactly. It was off to the side of the abdominal stab wound, likely where the fat and major arteries were concentrated. That kind of arterial spray only happened if blood pressure was still being maintained. I had seen it before, though only once or twice in similar situations.
“What are you saying… Are you trying to get involved?”
As I moved around the body, the police officer glared at me. Fair enough. If it was a body, the police were supposed to handle it. Autopsies came after the fact, once the body was moved.
But that was just it.
“She’s not dead.”
“What?”
“She’s still alive.”
“What are you talking about? She’s lost so much blood.”
“Yeah, her face is white as a sheet.”
At my words, the officer leaned in closer with the lantern. Her skin was pale, no doubt about it. But when did people turn pale? When they died? Sure, sometimes. But people also went pale from blood loss long before death. Or even from stress.
“Ugh…”
See that? Even with the lantern too close, she was reacting.
“Get that light out of her face. She’s burned.”
“But how is she so pale?”
“And how could she bleed this much and still live?”
Maybe she was lucky. But I was certain she could still feel pain. At the very least, she flinched. And blood was still pumping from a major artery. That meant her systolic pressure was being maintained.
“How is she still alive with a wound like that?”
“Her?”
“Unbelievable.”
I wished only the police were surprised, but even the others with me were stunned. Liston just folded his arms. At first, I thought he was staying calm because he was a professor. But no. He was just as baffled.
“She’s going to die anyway.”
He muttered it like a curse. What kind of doctor said something like that in front of a patient? Even if it was meant for God’s ears, there were other people listening. Liston had a reputation and a hunger for fame. Why say that out loud?
“She’s got a stomach wound. There’s nothing we can do.”
“No. Take her to the hospital first.”
“Her intestines are coming out!”
“Still, shouldn’t we at least try something?”
Then it made sense. Abdominal surgery was practically taboo in this era. Unless the problem could be solved by Amputation, most people preferred to die with dignity. Hospitals were more like prayer halls. Maybe they would give you laudanum and hope for the best.
Still, as I reeled from the limitations of nineteenth-century medicine, Liston raised his voice.
“What, are you saying Joseon doctors could save a patient like this?”
Well, technically… I did not know either. Maybe? I remembered watching some Korean period drama once. The Face Reader, I think? They had scalpels and suturing, at least…
“Yes. There are records. Whether it’s possible, I can’t say for sure. But she’s alive. So I have to try.”
Honestly, I did not even know what “records” I was talking about. It was just my mouth running faster than my brain. But whatever worked.
“Then let’s go. She’s still alive. We can ask her what happened after we save her.”
“Why not ask her now?”
“She’s bleeding.”
“If she’s going to die anyway, shouldn’t we get the truth out of her before she goes?”
No. Screw that. Whether I was lying or not, it was still better than these guys. You did not treat a living person like a corpse just because they might die.
“Come on. This way!”
“No, Professor!”
“Let’s try. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?”
“But you said she’d die.”
“I said nothing.”
Thankfully, Liston’s faith in Joseon medicine was oddly strong. Maybe he saw through my nonsense, or maybe he simply decided to roll with it. Either way, he did not object. With his help, we loaded the patient into the carriage. Two officers stayed behind, and the rest came with us.
The moment I got into the carriage with the patient, I remembered why I hated these things. They shook like hell and had no space.
“Should we leave her like this?”
“We don’t have a choice. Besides, sitting like that might hurt more.”
For all their shouting, these people had no clue. With that much blood loss, posture mattered. Keep her flat, and you helped maintain blood pressure.
“So… I lift her legs like this?”
“Yeah. That’ll help keep blood flowing to her heart.”
“Why?”
“Just do it. You don’t like it? Get out and walk like Colin did.”
“No, no, I’m good.”
If the brain did not get blood, it died. If the heart did not get blood, nothing else did. That was why I had Joseph lift her legs, to draw some of the pooled blood in her limbs back toward the core.
What she really needed was a Blood Transfusion.
But Blood Transfusion? Forbidden by the Papacy! Life is in the blood! How dare you…
Ugh. Liston was weirdly devout in some areas. Not ideal.
At least Blundell believes in transfusions, I thought.
Too bad they still kept mixing incompatible blood.
But that could wait. First, I needed to assess the wounds.
“Hm.”
“Hm…”
Liston shone the lantern as we inspected her abdomen. We were both looking at the same thing, but that did not mean we saw it the same way.
“She’s been stabbed twice.”
Liston was not a bad doctor, considering the times. But…
Depth’s about four centimeters or more… The intestines are protruding, but nothing seems to be ruptured.
If I had sterile gloves, I would poke around and check. But yes, that was not happening.
“Want to take a look inside here?”
Oh, God. Liston. You did not even wash your hands.
I’ll disinfect everything later, I told myself.
Besides, the knife used probably was not any cleaner.
“Oh, the intestines seem fine?”
Seem fine? Jesus. But he was not wrong. Visually, nothing looked torn. That alone drastically raised her survival chances.
And there’s barely any internal bleeding, even after we prodded around… That means—
The bleeding earlier had likely come from superficial vessels. Sometimes, major bleeds clotted off temporarily, only to burst open again later.
“We’re here!”
We arrived at the hospital. Instead of an operating room, we had to use the classroom. Yeah, still not ideal.
“Water! I need clean water!”
“This?”
“Boil it, you lunatic!”
There was not even boiled water ready. I had no nurses under my command yet. Nursing duties were still restricted to bedside care. Surgery was strictly for doctors.
God, these quacks.
What was the point of a fountain if you would not use the water from it to clean your damn hands?
“Wash your hands first!”
“What? It hurts!”
“Hurts less than what the patient’s feeling! At least wear gloves!”
Even Liston looked exasperated.
“Ugh…”
One thing was clear. We had to save her.
Footnotes
Translator’s Notes
Marxism — Political and economic theory associated with Karl Marx, developed in response to industrial capitalism, class inequality, and worker exploitation in the nineteenth century.
The Face Reader — A 2013 South Korean historical film set during the Joseon period; referenced by Taepyeong while thinking of Korean period dramas and old medical practices.
Laudanum — Opium-based tincture historically used as a painkiller and sedative.
Papacy — Authority of the Roman Catholic Church, referenced here because Blood Transfusion was historically opposed on religious grounds.
Systolic pressure — The pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts; maintained spurting arterial bleeding suggests the patient still has active circulation.